Pokémon: Exanimated Ordeal
by Dracoshi
Summary: The world of Pokémon is left in a terrifying ordeal after most humans and Pokemon are eradicated by the exanimated (or more popularly known as zombies). Does 15 year old Mikey make any difference to what is remaining from the pandemic? Or is he just a tiny grain of the universe, left to die without a meaning? (Gore/Violence/Death warning)
1. Chapter 1

**This is Chapter 1 of the new story I'm writing! It mixes Pokémon and Zombies in a hopefully good way! I hope you guys like it! (Not much action, more like a get-to-know-the-characters chapter). Remember to read and review! ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokémon (or zombies)**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

_"…but by the time the police had reached the site, the maniac was nowhere to be seen. However, what was found were the bodies of two mangled women. Bites covered their bodies. They were pronounced dead at the scene, and their identities will not be revealed to the public."_

That was just the first of the many more acts of mutilation which took over Kanto by storm. At that point, nobody knew that the actual problem wasn't related to the living; it was related to the undead and people took a long period of time to admit to it. The general community referred to them as zombies, but some thought that term was too heavily fictional to be true. These people called the creatures the exanimated. The exanimated outnumbered the living by billions. One bite was all it took to infect someone, and as expected, this sparked a chain reaction causing almost all of the world's population being contaminated.

_"...according to reports, the two women who were previously described as being deceased have supernaturally risen, before mauling a team of doctors. They have been placed into cells, and will be closely observed for the following weeks."_

Mikey, a 15 year old guy destined to be a Pokémon Champion, chose to give the cold shoulder to the whole affliction. When it started he was busy training his Pokémon for his 8th Gym battle in Snowbelle City, Kalos. Although his battle was there, he was in Camphrier Town, miles and miles away from the destination. Not that he cared; he was fond of travelling and found it much more enjoyable and congenial than staying still all the time. He had trust issues, and his dark clothing gave him no assistance in making any friends or socialising. Blending in like a stereotypical chameleon in a tropical forest, he hid away from the world, not giving anybody the time of the day.

His Greninja was his favourite Pokémon, for he was quiet and mysterious in a similar way that he was. He was his first real companion, and they had been together for years. Not only had they been partners, but they had also become best friends. They had a sibling-like relationship which couldn't be torn apart. He didn't care whether most of the humans were eradicated; he just thought of it as less people to speak to, and he would prefer that. Well at least he thought he would.

_"...red alert! It is strongly advised that you wait in a safe, sheltered place with enough food and water for at least a week. Do not leave until further announcement."_

Before the Earth knew what had hit it, the people panicked and fled from their homes to the major cities like Lumiose. A worldwide pandemic had stricken, and the public had finally realized it. Their horror films and most ghastly nightmares were becoming a reality before their very eyes, but it wasn't precisely the same, for it was one hundred times worse. Not only were the humans being wiped out, but the Pokémon were too.

_"...t-try to avoid them! Aim for the heads if they approach! These things are not human... they-they're attacking mankind! Bites appear to be the initiation of getting the plague, but whatever you do, do not let them touch you at all! You will not be charged or sentenced to jail for hurting these... things, so do not hold back! Remember that this is a red alert! Be prepared for at least two weeks without electricity or governmental control! I repeat- um, what are you doing? Pete? Turn off the cameras! They're in! Pete, no! Get away, Pete! Hel-"_

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><p>The shack was dim and hushed, the walls waving simultaneously with the storm outside. Rain fell down in torrents and showered the wooden structure, plummeting into the curtain-covered windows before streaming down to the grimy, muddy floor. Although the inside of the shelter was silent, the outside was the opposite. Outdoors, it sounded like helicopters were launching metal tins and pans to the ground from high above, making clanging and clashing sounds when they smashed into the floor. The little home was in a field surrounded by grass and some trees, but the noises still sounded like falling concrete.<p>

Mikey, who crouched beside a table motionlessly, did understand that the roaring weather out in the open was the main thing allowing him to stay hidden and camping in his new home, because the exanimated were attracted to loud noises (and the sound was coming from everywhere, so they became muddled up and just meandered aimlessly), but he had grown tired of having to sit in quietly all the time. The risk of leaving his shelter for no reason was not worth it. Anything could happen in the split second that he lost concentration on survival, so he used his concentration to his advantage. His attentiveness always lingered and never decreased. He wouldn't let himself preoccupy his mind with other things.

It had only been a few weeks more than a month since the outbreak occurred, but it already had a detrimental effect on everything from the buildings to the plants. The foliage was overgrown, climbing freely around anything in its way. Some of the houses and shops had half-collapsed, shielded in dirt and stone. They were mostly robbed and looted inside anyway, so it didn't really matter much. Mikey was incredibly lucky to find the place he was staying at practically untouched by others.

"Greninja, could you please lock the door?" Mikey's husky voice asked as he glared at his first Pokémon. They were still together, alongside his other Pokémon. "It's getting late and I think we should start sleeping soon." He brushed his hand across the dust on the table before pulling himself up to his feet. His skin was fairly tanned before the whole thing happened, but now due to lack of slumber, food and water, it blended into the pale wall. A similar thing happened to his hair, for it was before a dark, soil-coloured brown, but its vibrancy became drained. This left it looking revolting like dried blood.

Greninja crept past him and slid the key from the table. He then placed it in the lock and with one swift movement, locked the door. "Gren-Greninja." Greninja put the key back and leant on the lacerated couch, acting like he was waiting for Mikey's approval to sit down. When Greninja remembered about the others, he pointed at the door leading to the other room before entering it, followed by Mikey right behind him.

Inside were his other five Pokémon: Staravia, Heliolisk, Venusaur, Magmar and Espeon. They parked themselves on the floor, occasionally making eye contact. When Greninja and Mikey sat with them, they began a conversation. Obviously he didn't really understand them, since they were Pokémon and he was a human, but it felt as if he knew exactly what they were saying.

They were frightened of the new world, and he was too. At that point, zombies were the main threat. But he knew that just like in all the fictional movies and shows, humans would later become the primary danger. The people he had encountered previously weren't bad in anyway whatsoever, they just either raised their alarms at the sight of him, or asked if he needed any help. He didn't want their help even though he needed it, so he just ignored them and walked away. But that was weeks ago – he hadn't seen any alive people for a while, even on his frequent supply runs. This left him thinking pessimistically. The thought that he was the last living human often popped up in his mind, but he knew that chances of that were too little to be true.

Mikey looked at them all. He yawned, "You want me to keep watch tonight? You guys really deserve some sleep." Although he trusted his companions, he couldn't put his life in their hands. They could with him, but there was no way he could with them. He didn't trust anybody. Additionally, they all looked exceptionally tired.

Heliolisk nodded off first, lying beside Espeon and Magmar (who fell asleep speedily after), followed by Venusaur, who fell into a deep slumber near Greninja, who was already having a little nap. Staravia was different, for she preferred to stay awake whilst Mikey did. She perched herself at the window and sporadically moved the curtains to peek outside, making sure that nothing was approaching.

Life would have been much simpler for Mikey if he had no Pokémon; he'd just keep travelling stealthily and scavenging for things. However, because he had six Pokémon, he had to care for them all too. Electricity hadn't been working after the epidemic began, so the PC Systems and Poké Ball Systems didn't function either. This meant Pokémon couldn't be kept in their Poké Balls. People could either keep them with them or release them, but Mikey couldn't release them for the reason that they could be killed out in the wild, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he ever let that happen.

Mikey held the main weapon they had in his right pocket, so it was easy to pull out in times of danger. It was a handgun, and he didn't know the name of it. He knew it was a semi-automatic pistol, and that's all he cared about, because names meant nothing anymore. He only had to use it once, which was when he got attacked by a crawling zombie (it made him jump which meant that the trigger unintentionally shot), so he wasn't skilled with the gun at all. His preferred weapon was his hammer which he looted from a toolbox on a construction site a month before. It took a few hefty swings to crush the exanimateds' skulls and damage their brains (which killed them), but it was light to carry and done the job perfectly.

Magmar's flames just managed to light the room. Mikey told Magmar from the very beginning not to make them too bright or large in order to avoid the exanimated or other people from seeing them, but he also told him to keep them there a bit so they could see. Whenever Mikey pulled the gun from his pocket to look at it in the light of Magmar's fire, Staravia silently called and whistled in disapproval. It was like she didn't want him touching weapons of death and destruction like his pistol without a real reason for doing so. He assumed she was just overcautious.

"You don't have to be afraid, Staravia." Mikey sat beside her.

Staravia put her head down.

"I wouldn't ever let anything happen to you, and you know that." He grinned. "You were my second Pokémon like, ever. We've been through so much together…"

The Flying-Pokémon looked up and then gently fluttered her wings.

"So please, don't worry about a thing. This world will be back to normal soon, and we both know it. Just like I know we'll both be there to see it."

Mikey sat on the window sill and laid his legs out, so his back leant against the glass. He could still see outside from where he was sitting, so it was probably the best seat he could have in that situation. Mikey always kept his hand near his pocket in case of a sudden emergency, and that night wasn't an exception. He felt something snuggle up to his side, under his arm. His hand reached for the gun, until he looked down and saw that it was Staravia, holding on to him tightly with her wings, before eventually drifting off to sleep in comfort. He slowly placed the gun back into his pocket, and let Staravia fall asleep serenely and quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Howdy! Sorry about the wait for this Chapter! I don't really have too much to say here, so I'll just let you guys read and hopefully enjoy it! ^_^ Remember to review! :D Some action is starting up~**

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

"Star, Sta- Staravia!" Staravia bellowed aloud as soon as she saw the sun had risen. She wanted everybody to awaken so they could get an early start, but not all of them were as fond of wakening at that time in the morning as she was. Now, the shack was as vibrant and bright as the morning sky, the light flourishing in from the newly opened window. If Staravia's call wasn't enough to wake them up, the pre-lunch sunrise sure was. As soon as it reached their eyes, they all jolted from their slumber and simultaneously yawned. Only Heliolisk, Staravia and Mikey actually stood up and started getting ready.

"Come on guys, up and at 'em!" Mikey yelled, ready to leave. As soon as he told them to get up, they all began to. Especially Greninja, who at the sound of Mikey's call, leaped straight up and stood before him. It was like they were in the army, for they were lined up in front of Mikey, willing to do anything for him even if it meant risking their lives. Venusaur, however, continued to lay on the ground half-asleep. When he did rise, it was 10 minutes later than everybody else. The reason that they had to be up so early was because they had the most minuscule amount of food and water left, and they hadn't eaten or drunk in over a day. It left all of them completely shattered and exhausted.

They bolted the windows before they left. "Mag- Magmar, Magmarrr?" Magmar asked Mikey a question, which he effortlessly understood. He nodded and smiled.

"Thanks for the reminder, Magmar." He pointed at them all, one by one. "We need two of us remaining here to keep the place safe. We can't make the mistake we made last time – we can't return to three exanimated attempting to break the door down again."

Without anything else being said, Venusaur and Magmar raised their hands.

Mikey checked that they were sure, and then made them aware of what they would do in certain situations.

"If you get into any danger, either hide, fight or run. If it's maybe a few exanimated and you know you can deal with them, either hide or fight. If it's humans, either hide or run. Do not risk your lives for this cabin, it is only a shelter. We can find another one, but we can't revive you if you do get injured or worse. Don't take your chances. Only fight if you can, but otherwise just run or hide. Clear?" He asked them, leaving them both nodding in either unity or misperception. Greninja opened the door and peeked out, before stepping outside. He was followed by the others, who locked the entrance behind them.

They had just left the cabin, and were sprinting down the field through the overgrown grass. Staravia was flying above them, searching for any exanimated that they could avoid. Heliolisk and Greninja sped through the trees at the speed of light, making sure that everything in front of them was passable. Greninja was always a few seconds further than Heliolisk, as Mikey focused on training his speed before the whole outbreak had started. Espeon perched on Mikey's shoulders without a word spoken, as he followed behind the others. All of the grass was covered with dewdrops of rain from the previous night, which soaked their legs as they ran through it.

When Mikey ran, it could easily be heard by anyone around since he was carrying a fair amount of stuff. On the other hand, Staravia, Greninja and Heliolisk were almost muted. They were all at different paces and struggled to keep up with each other.

The sky was practically clear with no clouds or anything, which was a juxtaposition of the previous night. It didn't really mean anything, but Mikey just felt less isolated when there were less clouds around. The sun was lively, waking up the whole world. The brightness raised the optimism and merriment, for they didn't feel frightened or anxious at all compared to when they were leaving the cabin. The group were heading to Lumiose City, because that was where they did most of their supply runs; their cabin was close to it and there were lots of goods to take from the numerous shops, restaurants, markets and other places.

The problem was, however, that there were hundreds more exanimated in that place than in most other areas of the region. Tons of people were there to begin with, and even more people fled to there. Almost all of them became infected and turned into the exanimated, including the Pokémon. Mikey was fortunate; he had only found two exanimated Pokémon since the whole thing had begun. He just fled from them, as he knew that he couldn't bring himself to killing them. A human? No problem in killing them. A Pokémon? No way. He would never hurt them, unless he had to.

Staravia zoomed ahead of them as they halted. The usual plan was that Staravia would check ahead that the city was satisfactory and that they could enter it without getting into too much jeopardy. Of course it wasn't safe, but if they got in and then out again, it would all be worth it.

"Star-Staravia!" She echoed her voice to the others, signalling that they could go.

Silently, Mikey dashed down the dark alley, not giving attention to anything other than what was in front of him and around him. Heliolisk was slowing down, glancing around at the buildings surrounding them. He always made that mistake, and they knew that someday it'd get them into trouble.

"Essspeonn!" Espeon sung, trying to get Heliolisk back into the formation. She almost never spoke, so Heliolisk knew that she was serious. He got his act together and focused on the aim.

They reached the end of the alley and observed only seven zombies, wandering around the streets openly. "Must have been some noise or light or something somewhere else. I guess most exanimated were attracted to it and left this area." Mikey smirked. "Perfect opportunity." He pointed at a miniature shop across the road; it evidently had smashed windows and a broken down door, but it was worth a shot at searching.

The place was barren and deserted. There was the odd plastic bag or tree leaf which flew past in the wind, but other than that, there was practically nothing. Mikey held his hammer by his side as he gradually took each step towards the shop. Greninja stood directly in front of him, Espeon beside him, Staravia flew above them, and Heliolisk at the back. All the buildings towered over all of them, including the tiny shop which they were heading towards. It was only two floors, but the others seemed way higher.

"Remember, just walk." Mikey murmured. "If any of the exanimated see you, just keep walking. They're slow, so we don't need to be afraid." He took a large gulp, before continuing to mutter. "Only run or fight back if they get too close to you. Or if there's too many of them." The group were about 20 metres from the store, but it felt as if they were miles away. They grew nearer to the shop.

When they reached it, 15 seconds later, they cautiously entered. Staravia stood outside, ready to whistle if anything was coming. Heliolisk was sneaking around, checking that there were no exanimated inside. His tail often hit the walls and the shelves. Greninja, Mikey and Espeon were gathering the very tiny amount of supplies that were left unscathed. All they could really find were a few batteries and the remains of some food. The most valued item that they found was a roll of duct tape. Espeon saw a half-opened box of plasters, so she leaped up the shelf to get it. When she reached it, she heard a moan from beside her.

"Gren, Greninja!" Greninja saw the zombie and galloped towards it, endeavouring to knock it away before it got Espeon. He realized that he wouldn't be there in time, so he swiftly formed a Water Shuriken and then hurled it at the exanimated. The attack knocked the monster back a bit as Espeon stood still, frozen in terror. Greninja lunged at it and spun it around, before kicking it against the wall. He then took an empty glass jar and smashed it across the exanimated's head, before Mikey sprinted into sight. The exanimated monster wasn't dead from Greninja's attacks, because the brain wasn't damaged enough, but Mikey soon finished it off. He pulled his hammer out and held it with two hands, striking it against its head.

"Come on, let's get out of here before more appear from behind the shelves." Mikey grabbed Espeon, who was still motionless, and then headed to the exit, trailed by Heliolisk and Greninja. Staravia flew ahead of them, the exanimated following her. She was luring them away from the area. The other four tiptoed down the street and spotted a pharmacy with two very large glass windows and a big door. It was around a sharp corner. Heliolisk didn't even think about what he was doing before charging full-speed towards it. Thankfully, he reached it and entered without any harm.

Mikey turned the corner and saw at least fifty zombies, limping around aimlessly. They were a fair amount of distance away, but they still had to take caution whilst doing anything. Staravia came back to them and zoomed into the place next, followed by Espeon, then Greninja and Mikey. They didn't think they were seen, so they began searching the pharmacy in ease. The bag was slowly getting filled up with the remains of medical supplies left abandoned at the building. It was mainly just some plasters and bandages and the odd tub of skin cream or petite bottles of medicine, but it could be used to their benefit and that was what they wanted.

When the clashing and smashing of glass was heard from beside him, Mikey swiftly glanced around for protection. He didn't know what the sound was, but he knew it wasn't a good sign. _'A counter, some shelves, a door leading upstairs, the windows, the entrance/exit, the desk…' _Every object in the place ran through his mind. He shot around and saw Heliolisk on the floor, with the smashed glass shelves around him. He must have tripped and broken it all. The noise was like a roar, being able to be heard from ages away. Mikey ran to the exit, signalling for his Pokémon to follow him. When he reached it, he saw hundreds of exanimated approaching the pharmacy from all different places. The way out was no longer a way out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dang, this chapter has been long overdue! Exams'n'stuff have taken over my life ;-; I hope you guys enjoy this longer-than-average chapter! As always, don't forget to review, follow, etc.! Thank you for reading! If you find any typos or mistakes, be sure to tell me!**

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

The collision of the shelves falling to the ground made the whole room shake, which in rotation made even more shelves fall. The largest one toppled down, smashing through the colossal windows, which covered the area with glass. More whines rebounded from the buildings outside, getting louder as each second passed by. It began to get really windy outside, and before they knew it, it was pouring down with rain. The exanimated hiked through the weather and became desperate to reach the survivors. They began flooding towards the entrance before the group had time to think.

Mikey, who was sweating like a pig, pulled his gun from his side and aimed it at the entry. He glimpsed at Staravia, then at Espeon, then back at Staravia. "Espeon, get on Staravia's back. Staravia, fly out that window and get away from this place!" He shouted demandingly, pointing at the window. The more of his friends he could get out alive, the better. He wasn't afraid for his own life, only for those around him.

Staravia and Espeon shook their heads and stood beside him.

"Staravia and Espeon, please! I know you don't want to leave us behind, but I want you to live! You two are the easiest to get out of this situation, so go! Get away from here!" Mikey yelled, more livid than he had ever been before. "Now scurry!" Espeon leaped on to Staravia's back. They nodded before soaring through the air and escaping from the window.

"You guys, find a way out! I'll protect us!"

Half a second later, zombies began flooding through the door and the windows, hurrying towards the group. Mikey aimed the gun and shot. The bullet ricocheted and hit a shelf. He then aimed it more accurately and pulled the trigger. It shot a zombie's chest, so he aimed up slightly, and shot again. This time it hit the head and killed it. The next time he used his gun, he was much luckier; he killed an exanimated in one shot. The following few took several more shots. He understood that the gun wasn't working too well for him since he was wasting a lot of ammo, so he pulled out his hammer.

A few fine hits with his hammer was all that it took to kill each zombie. However, before long, he was worn out and the exanimated were increasing in too large numbers for him to keep fighting. One of the glass cupboards fell on to him, a zombie following after. His bag flew from his grasp and half the items fell everywhere. The monster's face was within 5 inches from his, the mouth urgently trying to bite him. Mikey struggled and tried to push it back, but he knew that he needed his Pokémon's help. He called for them, and then watched as the exanimated's head was destroyed in front of him. The cupboard was lifted, and he dragged himself up, wiping the remains from his face and grabbing his bag.

"Gr-Greninja!" He whooped, pointing at the door leading upstairs which he had finally managed to break open. Mikey pulled it and pushed his two Pokémon in, before running in himself and closing the door behind him. They followed two flights of stairs before they reached somewhere to rest. It was a storage room, which they entered guardedly. They were all prepared to fight in case anything was in there. Mikey had his gun out, aimed in front of him to ensure that he was in safety. The smell in the room was revolting, and it wasn't until he saw the most horrific thing that he had ever seen in his life that he lowered his weapon.

'GOD SAVE US' was scratched and clawed into the wall, surrounded by lists of names also carved into the wall. He squinted below it and saw two people, a woman and a man, laying in silence. Around them were a few boxes and supplies. Mikey stepped closer and saw gun shots through their heads, with a gun in the man's hand. Dry blood was splattered around them.

"Guys, don't look. Keep going up the next flight of stairs." Mikey tried to make them keep going, for he didn't want them to see what he had just seen. They did as he instructed them to do and headed up the building. Mikey was behind them, and he wasn't too sure whether he did the right thing. He had the choice to take their supplies and weapon, but he thought that'd be inhumane and coldhearted, even if they needed the things to survive. Mikey chose to leave the people in their rest, alongside their belongings.

The stairs showed them the top of the building, which is where they observed the whole city. They were incredibly high up, which was perfect for checking whether the coast was clear. Mikey cautiously peeked over the side, and saw lots of the zombies still piling in to the building. That was when he heard the door leading to the storage room break down, signaling that the zombies were making their way up the building towards them.

"We're going to have to jump from each rooftop to another until we find a way down! We have no other choice!" Mikey sighed, looking at the closest rooftop, which was a two-metre jump. If they messed up the jump, they'd fall at least 20 metres. Without giving the other two a chance to respond, he leaped for his life. He made it across effortlessly because of his prior experiences with long jump, so he waited there for the other two to jump. Greninja found it easy too, passing over the space with no problem. When Heliolisk ran, he went too far and made a false step, which resulted in him tripping and falling. Mikey lunged towards him and attempted to grab him, but it was too late. Heliolisk was nowhere to be seen. He closed his eyes and rubbed them, knowing that he let Heliolisk down.

He felt something perch on his shoulder, and then he heard some whistling and squawking, which he instantaneously recognized as his Staravia's call. Then, he heard, "Esp-Espeon!" from the other building. When he unlocked his eyes, he saw Espeon's eyes were blue, and Heliolisk was hovering around them in the air. He was eventually put down on the building, and Espeon jumped across to them. A bead of sweat dripped down his nose, before he wiped it away in relief.

"Th-thank y-you, Staravia and Espeon," Mikey properly smiled for the first time in weeks, "thank you for coming back and helping us." He swallowed his saliva. "Without you guys, Heliolisk wouldn't have made it."

After that, they continued to jump from roof to roof until they reached a place with a ladder leading to the ground. They climbed down and exited Lumiose City as soon as they possibly could. When they reached the border of the place, they became a little bit jumbled. Mikey looked around and then yawned, knowing the mistake they had made. He crouched on the ground, and leant against Greninja.

"We've exited in North Lumiose, but our cabin is a mile or two from South Lumiose."

The whole group sighed, all of them infuriated with the silly fault they had fallen into.

"Now we can either travel back through the city, which would be much more hazardous, or we could go around, which would take a whole lot longer, but would be safer." Mikey gestured the route with his hands, speaking slowly. "We could have a vote. I don't want to take the role of leader this time, because I know an error could terminate us all. So who thinks what?"

When Mikey mentioned going through the city, Heliolisk waved its hand and made a sound. However, when he spoke about going around, Espeon, Greninja and Staravia nodded simultaneously. Their decision was sealed, so they got ready to leave. The sun was gradually falling from the sky, and stars eventually sparkled above them. None of them felt tired at that point, so they began to travel.

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><p>"H-Hel-Heli-," Heliolisk gasped for breath, "Helio-Heliolisk." He collapsed beside some flowers due to fatigue. Espeon knelt beside him and then also sat down.<p>

"I guess that signals that we need to rest." Mikey chortled. He tried to have a laugh even though he knew the dilemma they were in. Walking for an hour hadn't impacted his energy level, but he could tell Heliolisk and Espeon particularly were knackered. They decided to sit beside some big rocks to rest, so they were half-sheltered and hidden.

"Hey, Staravia… if you're up to it, I was wondering whether you'd be able to fly home tonight and tell Venusaur and Magmar that we'll be longer getting home?" He suggested in a polite way. "They could be worried, and I don't want them making any senseless mistakes because of it."

Staravia nodded and swooped into the air, letting the wind take her on her path.

At this point Heliolisk and Espeon were catnapping, regaining their dynamism as Greninja and Mikey stayed vigilant, prepared at any moment to pounce into action. It was gloomy and silent, the only noise being emitted by the raindrops and hailstones pattering on to the rocks. Based on the weather, and based on his estimates, Mikey believed that it was probably around the latter half of November. The pandemic began towards the end of September, and he thought it had been around two months. However, for Mikey it had felt a whole lot longer because of the roles and responsibilities he carried on his back.

Throughout the night, only two of the exanimated had approached their hideout. One of them just wandered around the area foolishly and the other had its brain mutilated by Mikey's hammer. He was thankful that none of his friends saw him attacking the creature, because he had taken his rage out on its body, once again with his melee weapon. He crouched patiently waiting for the sun to rise. Eventually he heard a whistle of panic echoing around him. Staravia swiftly landed on the stones and franticly waved her wings, screaming and screeching sounds out of nowhere. It woke everybody up.

"S-Staravia! Stara-Starr!" Staravia wailed, attempting to get their attention.

Mikey raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Staravia! Star-Staravi! Starr?"

"Calm down, I can't understand you. Slow down, breathe, and then tell us again."

Staravia sighed. "Star, Starraviaaa. Starav-Staravia!" She flapped her wings, pointing at the direction of the cabin. She then shook her head sideways and slammed her right-wing against the stones, forming a fist. Mikey hastily picked up his bag and his hammer before dashing south, gesticulating for them to follow closely behind him.

"If I'm understanding you correctly, something is wrong with the cabin." Mikey waited for a response. Staravia didn't speak, for she only nodded, gliding above them. They struggled to speak since they were sprinting so fast. It would take around an hour for them to reach the cabin from where they were by a car (if they were driving quickly), so it was lucky that they were so determined to get to the place that they were running faster than one.

As they got closer the air became thicker. Smoke was forming above the field which their cabin was situated in, and the group could see it filling the atmosphere. Mikey gasped for breath and he threw himself through the thick fog, struggling to breathe. He glared ahead of him and fell to his knees at what he saw. Their home was engulfed in flames, both inside and out. It was burning like a fiery, oil-doused car, the whole structure collapsing into blazing, scorching fires. It wouldn't have affected him much if it was just the home which was up in flames, but it was the fact that Venusaur and Magmar were probably in there which made him collapse. The smoke engulfed his motionless body as his vision blurred to black.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is the longest chapter yet, and it's also currently my personal favourite. I'm not too sure why, but I just really enjoyed writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it! Remember to review!**

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><p><span>Chapter 4<span>

_The sun was shining bright and the wind was still. The flowers were motionless and the trees were too, held into the ground stiffly. There was short, dark green grass covering the ground, which contrasted the vibrant blue sky above them. A little girl danced around in the distance with her mother, repeatedly glancing over to Mikey and his ongoing battle. The smell of fresh air lingered and waved against their skin._

_"__Froakie, keep it up! Use Water Pulse to finish it off!" Mikey spun a Poké Ball on his index finger, itching for his first capture. He felt that he had to physically hold himself back from throwing it there and then. He knew that the Pokémon he was trying to defeat was faster than any Pokémon he had challenged before, which made him think it'd be a magnificent and admirable addition to his team (which consisted of only Froakie). The longer he waited, the more desperate he grew. The sunlight attempted to block his eyes to distract him, but Mikey fought it back. Winning a battle was as much of a task for Mikey as it was Froakie, so he couldn't let himself fall behind of his partner. If he wanted to catch that Starly, he had to put in the effort._

_The blue water-orb formed in Froakie's hands, and grew as large as his head. Starly gasped and urgently tried to flutter its wings. The pulse was moving so swiftly that Starly had practically no time to soar away. Being hurled through the air, the Water Pulse grew more charged, prepared to knock Starly out in the next hit. The bird froze, contact was made, Starly fell, and Mikey threw the Poké Ball. The little bird was falling midair when the Poké Ball unexpectedly encapsulated it._

_One shake._

_Two shakes._

_Three shakes._

_The Poké Ball sparkled, as Froakie leaped to the sky and cheered. Mikey punched the air too, and then ran to his Poké Ball. He let it open and let Starly hop around, a little bit jumbled about what was going on. Mikey could see that Starly was only young due to its size; he believed that as the Pokémon was so young, it had never really had any experience with humans. This made Mikey want to train and become friends with it even more, since it'd be much more of a struggle. Pokémon seemed to be the only beings that he could actually understand and the only beings which could actually understand him, so he aimed to meet a lot of them._

_Starly and Froakie ignored each other – there was some sort of rivalry sparking between them, and Mikey thought it was fantastic. He would love for them to compete off of each other and rebound their knowledge/tactics to each other, since it'd mean that they could both get even more powerful, aiming to be better than the other. Mikey watched Starly and Froakie begin to race around some trees, and smiled._

Mikey awoke that morning with a tear of joy dripping down his face, laying with his back against a cold, rigid wall. He broke the stiffness from his limbs and wiped the blur from his eyes, stretching along the surfaces of whatever he was sitting on. When his eyes did open he spotted instant movement. He glanced around and saw Staravia on one side of him and Greninja on the other, seemingly waiting for him to rise. When they noticed him getting up, they both jumped up. It wasn't normal for them to get so excited, but they knew that Mikey could have died, so they were ecstatic that he was alive. Espeon and Heliolisk stood silently in front of them, seemingly guarding the group.

Before speaking, he took note of his surroundings. He could smell sewage and could see a flame which was illuminating the room. He felt the concrete beneath him and heard muttering. It echoed from the walls and ceiling. Glaring around, he could see a crashed train on a rail track. They were evidently in an underground subway. He stared at the fire closer and then stood, almost collapsing against the wall due to lack of energy. He had been sleeping unconscious for almost two days, yet he was still shattered.

"Wh-where are we?" Mikey held on to his sleeves, trying to destroy the numbness from his palms. He saw Greninja stand up beside him, trying to support him. Mikey then walked towards the flame and when close enough, he squinted his eyes to see what was forming the light. His throat and lungs were still thick and clogged up from the smoke, yet he continued to limp around. "What happened? All I remember is… heat and darkness." He rubbed his face with his hands before sighing. His finger nails were bitten down as far as they could be and even then they were unclean – not that it really mattered to him, since his whole body was unclean. Before the apocalypse, he didn't realize that he'd miss showers so much if there was ever a time that he couldn't have them. He smiled when he saw that Magmar was giving off the flame, for that meant that he was perfectly fine from the fire.

"Starr, Staravia," Staravia formed a finger with her wings, "Starravvia!" She nodded her head and looked into the direction that she was trying to tell him about. Hopping towards it, she enticed him to follow her. Mikey did trail her, and took a peek at what was underneath the flame. He shrieked and scuffled away in a panic. What he had seen was Venusaur laying on the floor, barely able to move his legs. He was covered in burns and struggling to breathe. Mikey then lunged towards him, crouching beside him and reaching for his bag. He unfastened it and tried to pull out some of the bandages and medicine they had spare. When he put his hand in the bag, he rapidly pulled it back out and squealed in pain. The light from beside him showed that his hand was covered in blood; the glass bottles had smashed when he fell over, leaving shards and blades sitting in his bag. He tipped it out and found nothing other than a plastic bottle of water and a tiny amount of bandages – there weren't enough bandages to completely help Venusaur, but what he did use were used to wrap around Venusaur's legs. It put pressure on some of the burns, which pushed some of the excess blood out.

"Oh… Venusaur… it's fine, don't worry… I'll look after you…" Mikey wiped away a tear which dribbled down his cheek. His eyes began to fuzz due to him holding back from crying, so he hit his face into his hands over and over. He felt as if he was to blame for the whole thing, since he was the one who let them stay at the cabin. He should have made them come with him. "I-I'll help you… I shouldn't have let you… I… I'm so sorry!" He broke down and curled up on the floor. He then felt a surge of responsibility, and stood tall. He couldn't let depression get the better of him, since he had to keep everybody alive.

He sat beside Venusaur and stroked his back.

"Magmar… what happened? How did it all happen?" Mikey questioned him.

"Magg... mar." Magmar gradually responded.

"So it wasn't either of you who… did that to the cabin?"

Magmar shook his head sideways, "Magmar, mag-mar, mag!"

"Sorry for asking… I shouldn't have even thought that for a brief second. So it was somebody else?"

"Magm-magmarr." He mumbled.

"So… you were there and you heard something outside… and then before you knew it, the place was on fire?"

Magmar nodded.

"Somebody did this on purpose?!" Mikey smashed his fist against the floor, then clenched it and bit his tongue to hold in his anger. He was furious. It was when Venusaur groaned again that he calmed down. Venusaur was beginning to cry and shake, moaning in shock and pain.

"Venusaur, there's no need to worry, I'm going to go get you the things you need. Just… just please, stay okay whilst I'm gone." He patted Venusaur's head and then stood up, heading towards the steps which led up to ground level. As he got further up, the light started beaming through. He could properly see his hand for the first time: it was torn downwards and blood was pouring from it endlessly, drenching his sleeves and growing numb. He had used his bandages on Venusaur even though he also needed them, but he didn't regret it.

It was when he had then reached the surface that he felt something tap him on the shoulder – Greninja was following him, for he was worried in case anything happened to him. Greninja told Mikey that he told the others to keep their guards up and stuff. Mikey then nodded and smiled; he felt so much safer when he had Greninja beside him, for he felt like he had double the security. Greninja's strength was what he lacked, and vice versa. They always had each other's back and made sure they weren't in danger.

As soon as Mikey saw where they were, he instantly recognized it. They were in Camphrier Town, miles and miles from the cabin. He was pretty shocked.

"You guys brought Venusaur and me all this way?" Mikey smiled. "Thank you."

They were walking towards a shop, avoiding exanimated. Their minds were occupied with memories.

"Remember here in Camphrier Town, when we were training? This is where we were when the news came along that the dead were rising… well not really news, because they had been for a long time, but nobody really realized. All those horrific murders and mutilations… they were the exanimated, right? Damn, I remember that like it was yesterday… I just chose to ignore it and not worry… but if I knew that'd be the last time I saw my family, I wouldn't have left. My mother, father and my little sister… I can't believe how much I feel empty without them. Why can't this hell be over? We've suffered… people have died, what else does whoever is watching us from up there in the sky and controlling this new world want? Just stop! We can't handle this anymore… we're going through this, and for what?" Mikey stared at the sky in frustration, knowing that his words meant nothing. He couldn't change anything.

He tried to focus on better things. "You, Espeon, Heliolisk, Magmar, Venusaur and Staravia were in my party Pokémon when it all started. Although I love having you guys around and although I feel safer with you guys, I hate having all of you here with me. I want you to be safe in the PC… you could be so safe and peaceful in the PC, since the systems and servers are down. You could live happily as if nothing is happening… just like I hope Golduck, Simisage and Munchlax are. I miss them, I do, but I love them enough to let them live perfectly without ever seeing me. Not that I could bring them out anyway, since they're stuck in the system. It sounds weird, but I want the same for you guys."

Greninja didn't really know how to respond, so he just nodded and smiled. He didn't want to be locked away in the PC – he'd rather be at risk with Mikey than safe and alone. He just wished that he could simply tell Mikey that.

There was silence for the next 5 minutes, for they were both taking in Mikey's speech. Within that time, they had searched the shop and found nothing other than a small out-of-date packet of chicken strips. He took them anyway, for it was better than nothing. They then found a house and sneaked in. There were a few zombies in there, which they attacked and defeated. They only searched the bottom floor, and they found one can of Coca Cola and another energy drink. The next place was really beaten up, because practically everything useful had been stolen. Greninja found a blue room, which he thoroughly searched. He came out with binoculars.

"If you found them in there, there must be more useful things." Mikey darted into the room and searched everywhere, even under the bed and in the drawers. He finally found what he needed around half an hour later. He found a pair of walkie-talkies/hand held transceivers, and sparkled his teeth. "We've done it, we've found the ultimate device." Mikey chuckled, before leaving the place behind Greninja.

Next, they had to find things for Venusaur. When the pandemic started, lots of people went to Pokémon Centers for shelter and for supplies. Mikey assumed there would be nothing left, yet he still decided to go there. He pushed the electric-doors open and entered. When he entered, the chairs were torn and stained, half the windows were smashed, the tables were knocked over and the plants had overgrown. There was nothing in the waiting room, so he climbed over the desk and cautiously tiptoed to the medical rooms behind the counters. He then opened another door, and just managed to see what was in the room. There were a few tables with some supplies on them, so he dashed in and grabbed them. There were bandages, different types of cream, some food and water, and most importantly, some pain relief and medicine. All of it was shoved into a bag he had picked up in the first shop he entered, before he turned to exit.

"Gren, Greninja!" Greninja screeched, pointing around them. The room was full of exanimated, tied by rope to the chairs as if they were being forced to be experimented on. Greninja tried to pull Mikey out, but he decided to stand still. He was staring at the zombies, completely flabbergasted that somebody would do that. The people must have been still human when they were tied down, which made it even worse. Then, he heard stepping. Mikey shot around and saw an exanimated Nurse Joy, accompanied by an exanimated Chansey. The Chansey was covered in blood with one eye, and her egg on her belly was broken. Before they approached him, Mikey smashed every single zombie head in with his hammer (they weren't difficult to massacre since they couldn't move). He then lunged at Nurse Joy, swung his hammer, and hit her across the head. She collapsed as Chansey staggered towards him.

Mikey froze as Chansey got closer; he always knew that he couldn't bring himself to killing an exanimated Pokémon, but he never thought it'd be that bad. He couldn't physically move, because the shock had hit him. Luckily for Mikey, Greninja was there – he threw an orb of water at Chansey, then grabbed Mikey and sprinted towards the exit, pulling him along. When they got outside, Mikey burst back into reality and rubbed his face.

"I'm not sure what happened, but thank you, Greninja." Mikey sighed in relief.

Greninja bowed, "Grenin-Gre-Greninja! Gren?"

"Why did I kill all those exanimated? Well because each one we kill is one less to kill in the future. Like that final one I killed, if I didn't kill it, who knows what it could do? It could break free and bite one of our friends, or something."

Out of nowhere, something burst from the bushes and sprinted past them. It was too small to be a human, so it had to have been a Pokémon. Greninja hoped for Mikey's sake that it was alive. They chased it, assuming that it was either frightened, injured, startled or upset. Even though they didn't know the small Pokémon, they couldn't just leave it. It wasn't often that they saw anything living, so they wouldn't let the opportunity be wasted.

"Hey, stop! We won't hurt you!" Mikey trailed closely behind it, being sure not to lose track. When close enough, for half a second he saw it turn around. He recognized it as a stick-thin Glameow, so underweight that you could almost hear its bones hitting each other every time it moved. "Please, don't be afraid! We can help you!" He announced again. Greninja began fully sprinting after the Glameow. When he was about to grab it, it leaped and held on to a pipe on a house wall. It scrambled up it and then leaped on top of another building before diving into a large hole in the roof.

Mikey exhaled and waved in the air.

"Why are you so worried? We won't hurt you! We've got a group about a mile away, you can be part of it if you want to!" He called, trying to persuade Glameow down. He wasn't keen on having more lives to be accountable for, but Glameow looked like it needed help. After 5 minutes of no response, they decided to enter the house. It was incredibly large with two windows at the front, one with the curtains pulled and the other dented and cracked. Mikey squinted at the window; he couldn't see any exanimated in there, so he opened the colossal, navy door. He cautiously sneaked in, Greninja half a metre behind him.

When they walked in, they could see a door to the left, a staircase ahead of them, a door to the right and another door beside the stairs. They peeked around the corner of the door leading into the living room and saw four zombies in there, wandering around without a thought. There were too many to attack, so he shut the door to keep them in there. He then looked into the kitchen and saw another three, one of them on the floor and the other two hitting a window. Without thinking about it, he swiftly shut that door too. The door to the left lead to a bathroom, with nothing in it other than a big glass jar. He shrugged his shoulders and left the bathroom, but Greninja handed it to him and put it in the bag.

"When will I ever need that? It's just weighing us down." He asked, zipping up his bag.

Greninja told him that they never knows when they're going to need something, and that anything can be useful in the position they're in. Mikey sarcastically nodded, smiled and then began walking up the stairs. His hands were grasped tightly around his hammer, ready to strike at whatever was in his way. There was a long corridor on the first floor, with 6 doors leading from it. One was a bathroom which had nothing in it (other than an exanimated woman which Mikey killed), one was a double-bedroom which had nothing other than a hair-brush in it (and another two zombies which Mikey shut the door on), one was an office, and one was another bedroom with nothing in it.

Greninja found a room which was coloured blue, with all sorts of things in it. It had Poké Ball stickers on the walls, Pokémon quilt covers, a Pokémon alarm clock, Pokémon related rugs, colours, accessories, etc. It brought Mikey back to when he wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer: he had been waiting for years, ready to leave and start his journey. He wasn't allowed to until he was 10, which bugged him for a long time. However, he was now happy that he didn't start until then, because if he did he'd have completely different Pokémon. After leaving that room, he shut the door behind him.

The room which touched him the most was the final room in the house. 'Alyssa', the name-sign read on top of the door. The room was pink and princess-themed, with sparkles and glitter covering the walls, little doll houses (which were still set up as if they had been played with recently) and teddy bears. There was a lavender-pink coloured bed, with magenta stripes on it. There was one little teddy bear – a white and pink fluffy bunny – which sat in a comfortable position on her bed. The reason that it got to him most was that it reminded him of his younger sister. This shattered his heart and made his face grow red. He forcefully hit his head on the wall as he became upset. Greninja stood in the hallway, protecting Mikey in his moment of vulnerability.

Abruptly, Mikey heard a crash which came from downstairs, followed by lots of grumbles. He dashed to the hallway and saw numerous exanimated crawling up the stairs, gaining speed the longer he waited. Greninja quickly reacted and pointed upwards towards the attic-hatch before jumping on to the stair-banister. He leaped up and pulled it open, before diving in. Greninja then leant out of the attic-hatch and tried to reach for Mikey, to help pull him in. The exanimated grasped Mikey at the same time Greninja did, for it was like tug-of-war trying to get him. Several of the zombies had let go of Mikey and fell, but yet one remained.

He speedily opened his bag and grabbed the glass jar from earlier. He smashed it over the exanimated's head, making it collapse, before sighing in relief as Greninja pulled him in. "Thank you for giving me that earlier. I'll never let anything go to waste ever again." He chuckled.

However, his laughter came to a halt when he properly got into the attic. He heard whining and turned around. In front of him was the Glameow from earlier, viciously growling like it was guarding something. When they looked closer, they saw exactly what it was protecting. There were supplies like water and food scattered around in a corner, but there was additionally something else.

She had blonde hair, which had almost fallen out due to being unwashed. The hair was covered in dirt and dust, as was the rest of her body. Her clothes were half-torn and stained. Her nails were too long, full of dirt just like her hair. She looked completely filthy – Mikey hadn't showered in two months but he still kept himself fairly clean. His hand cupped his mouth in shock.

Sat in front of him and being heavily guarded by Glameow was a little girl, no older than seven.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the wait! I hope you guys like this chapter c: As always, if you find any mistakes, be sure to message me or something so I can correct them! And of course, remember to review! (Possibly even follow and favourite if you haven't already, hmm?c;)**

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><p><span>Chapter 5<span>

The Glameow continued to growl, as Mikey slowly backed away. He was unsure about how to react or what to say, so he just kept his mouth hanging open. His head shook and he looked at her closely before glancing at Greninja. It was getting windy and dark outside, so they knew they had to do something. Mikey laid down his bag and then pulled a bottle of water out. He knew they already had bottles of water beside them, but it was all he could think of to gain their trust.

"Excuse me, do you need a drink of water? We've got plenty," he lied, "and you need them more than us." Mikey tried to hand the little girl the bottle, but she just looked away and began sobbing more. He really didn't know what he was supposed to do – Glameow was getting madder and she was getting more frightened.

He reassured her, "It's okay, I won't hurt you."

The little girl eventually responded, "Please just go." Water flooded from her eyes as she curled up into a ball.

"No-no, don't cry! It's fine, just calm down. How long have you been here?"

"Um- um, a long time. I think my family have locked me and Glameow up here. I haven't seen them in ages."

"Glameow, you go out and get the supplies for this girl, right? So you know about the… people, correct?"

Glameow checked Alyssa wasn't watching, then nodded.

"Alright little girl, we need to get you out of here. Your family have… gone on a long holiday, okay? A lot of people have. We need to get you away from this house before the supplies in this town run out and you're left with nothing."

"B-but I don't want to leave! I like it here!"

"I know you might like it, but you can't stay here any longer. Your food and water will run out, and you need to get washed – you can't keep your body in this condition."

"Please, I'm scared! Please don't hurt me… it's not my fault!"

"Oh no-no, I wouldn't hurt you! I'm trying to prevent you from getting hurt!"

"I-I want my mummy…"

"We can't see her at the moment, but if you trust me we can try to find her."

"How can I trust you?! Mummy says don't talk to strangers!"

"Well… you're going to have to trust me. What your mother says is true, but in this situation you have to trust me. I'm telling the truth and I beg of you to believe me… you need to leave this place. Glameow can come with us, and you can meet some of my friends. They're all nice and some of them are really cute like Glameow! You can play with them!"

"O-okay… I'll come with you…"

"You're name is Al-Alee- Aleesa, right?" Mikey asked, remembering the sign above the door from earlier.

"My name is Alyssa, and you said it good." Alyssa smiled. "Most people can't say it properly but you did." Her face lit up. They felt the first sign of connection between them. Glameow was still protective and cautious, but Mikey could see that it was relieved that it wouldn't have to completely take care of Alyssa anymore. He himself was ecstatic to finally have another human in the group, as he began to feel quite lonely, being the only one who could speak his language. Mikey heard some whining and then looked through the hatch, seeing the exanimated trying to reach into the attic.

_The only way out is the hole in the roof, _Mikey glared upwards, _but it'll be tough work with Alyssa. _He boosted Greninja up and then picked up Alyssa, perching her on the roof. Glameow snarled more, but it didn't bother him. He respected Glameow for looking after Alyssa for that long. He followed them, and then Glameow followed him.

They stood on the rooftop, glancing around at the other houses and structures around them. Glameow tapped Mikey's foot to get his attention, then it pointed at the pipe leading down the side of the house. It then leaped to the pipe, slid down, leaped to another roof before jumping again and landing softly and safely in a bed of flowers. Mikey widened his eyes, then repeated Glameow's actions himself. He slid down before landing in the flowers.

"Greninja, you can carry Alyssa down carefully, right?" He asked.

Greninja nodded before picking up Alyssa and leaping down.

"Then let's get going!" Mikey held his bag and began jogging towards the subway.

"Mm'kay. We have another 5 friends here, but one of them is very… sick. He might be a bit tired and upset because of it, so don't jump on him or try to play with him or anything like that." He whispered as they approached the stairs. Then the worst thoughts hit him: what if his Pokémon weren't there? What if something else was there? What if Venusaur wasn't okay? He waited before they actually entered the place before making horrid presumptions.

They entered silently, trying not to startle the others.

"Hello! It's me, Mikey." He gradually trotted in and spoke. "Don't hide, I'm back."

Heliolisk and Espeon then sprinted towards him, and then galloped back behind Magmar and Staravia when they saw Alyssa and Glameow.

"Um, hi." Alyssa hid behind Glameow, too shy and nervous to come out.

Mikey gulped, "Guys, this is Alyssa and that's Glameow. Alyssa and Glameow, these are the friends I was telling you about. Magmar, Espeon, Heliolisk and Staravia." He was praying that they'd all get on well and that they'd all be at peace with each other. He knew that Heliolisk, Magmar and Venusaur would, but he was a little bit unsure about Espeon and Staravia, since they were pretty cautious. He was also pretty astonished that Greninja formed a friendship with Alyssa, because he was always one of the most concealed, sneakiest and careful members of the group.

"How's Venusaur?" Mikey wandered towards him, biting his nails.

Magmar shook his head and sighed.

"What?" He panicked and dashed towards him. Venusaur was in the same place, still struggling to hold on to life. "U-um I've got some supplies that I found. There's lots of food, water, bandages, medicine, everything you could need." He tipped the stuff on to the floor, and grabbed the bandages. He swiftly wrapped his hand up, which was still bleeding and throbbing, before wrapping Venusaur's scars and cuts. Venusaur's green colour was like a crispy black, and his flower on his back was now burnt and torn. One of his legs were shredded, and his eyes could hardly stay open.

Mikey then took out a bottle of pain relief (which was half empty) and poured a lot of it into Venusaur's mouth. "Swallow it. It'll taste vile, but I've got some water for you after." Mikey took out the tiny bottle of water and handed it to Venusaur. All of it was drunk at once, but they didn't care. Venusaur was the main priority.

"Um… Venusaur, are you okay?" Alyssa sat beside him. "I think you're really brave and cool."

Venusaur just managed to let out a miniature smile before sobbing again. A mixture of blood, tears and moans were released from Venusaur at once. It made Mikey lose it.

"Whatever pathetic, despicable, incapable monster did this to you is going to be murdered if they ever encounter us again. And I can't believe I'm saying this, but it ain't going to be the exanimated who kill them." He clenched his fist and began breathing loudly. He remembered that Alyssa was there with him, so he attempted to calm down.

Alyssa looked a bit shocked, but also curious.

"Wh-what's an ex-exan-exanimated thing?" She questioned him. "Are they a group of people? Or a new type of toy?!"

He sighed, "Alyssa, tomorrow I'm going to have to have a big, serious conversation with you about the world." Mikey yawned as Glameow growled. It seemed that it didn't want Alyssa finding out about everything, but they all knew it was inevitable. "So make sure you go to sleep now, so you're up bright and early tomorrow morning." Mikey wiped his forehead.

He gave Alyssa a bottle of water in case she needed it in the night, and then he put her in the corner with Glameow. He then pulled his warm, burgundy, winter coat off and laid it over her to keep her warm. This left him in a tight, sapphire tank top. Mikey would prefer that Alyssa stayed cosy rather than himself. Espeon then perched herself under the coat, with Glameow and Alyssa.

Staravia stood on the crashed train attentively, ready to tweet if anything went wrong. Heliolisk dashed and rested near where Greninja was sitting, and Magmar stayed up to make sure Venusaur was okay. Mikey was awake alongside Staravia and Magmar.

_This subway isn't safe, _Mikey sighed to himself, _we haven't searched the place for exanimated and anybody can come in an attack us._ He yawned. _We need to find a safe place like the cabin, but this place will have to do for now whilst Venusaur is recovering. _One by one, everyone drifted off to sleep. The only one remaining awake was Magmar – Mikey and Staravia hadn't had sleep in days so they physically had to rest. Magmar kept Venusaur secure, warm and accompanied.

Venusaur died that night.


	6. Chapter 6

**The last chapter was fairly short, so I done a longer-than-normal one this time ^-^ Whereas chapter 4 used to be my favourite chapter, this one now is! It was so much fun that I wrote it all in two days! I hope you guys like it and as always, remember to favourite, review, follow, etc.! If you find any mistakes, be sure to tell me so I can correct them c;**

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><p><span>Chapter 6<span>

"Sh-should your blanket be torn… may your breezes blow warm, may your ple-pleasure be what you find." Mikey stuttered. "May the… may the burdens you- you bare, like your… like your bounty be sh-shared. May you leave something g-good behind." He sponged his eye sockets, frantically trying to stop the tears. He had planned what he was going to say, since when his grandmother died, his parents had said this at her funeral. He wanted to say it to Venusaur, but he was struggling.

"May the sky and the… the land, rise to your com-comman-command, may your senses come like the night." He squinted around at those surrounding him. Magmar was bowed on the floor, permitting himself to wail. Alyssa was distressed since she hadn't properly understood death before, Glameow and Espeon just looked to the ground, Greninja stood beside Mikey, Staravia hovered behind them and Heliolisk crouched in the grass.

He then finished, "Live in peace… with the Earth. As in death, as in b-birth. May you prosper and… and have a good l-life. Thank you for letting me know you, Venusaur. I'm sorry that I didn't save you… but I tried. And you're in peace now… that time of pain has given you harmony. So make the most of it whilst we're all still stuck down here. Thank you, Venusaur, for always being there for us." He thumped his arm against his face and broke down, sitting unaccompanied beside the grave. The reason for Venusaur's death was because his condition had deteriorated, to the point that his heart stopped and he died a hurried, noiseless death sat beside Magmar. He brawled for his life, but the apocalyptic world had overcome his spirit and power. He was finally in peace, so why was Mikey feeling so guilty?

They were in a minute field, the grass and wheat rising almost as tall as them. They had dug a hole in which they buried Venusaur in. Magmar had shaped a gravestone, which was covered in leaves and flowers. It perched on top of where he was buried, swaying with the breeze. The air was icy and the sky was overcast. Although it was the morning, the atmosphere made it seem as if it was a dismal, murky evening.

Magmar wouldn't abandon the grave, for he was still in deep grief and heartache over Venusaur being gone. This left Mikey feeling like he had let everybody down; it made him feel as if the whole thing was his doing. He knew he shouldn't have left Venusaur and Magmar at the cabin alone, but he was trying not to think about it. He felt something tug at his trouser pocket.

Mikey twisted around and saw Alyssa, who was still enclosed in his large coat. She looked as if she needed him urgently.

"Um, you said you were going to tell me something today." She held her hands and wouldn't stay still, fiddling with them repeatedly. She was chewing her lip and crossing her legs on the spot.

"Alyssa," he squatted in front of her, "please don't feel awkward or nervous around me. We'll be together for a long time, so we need to be comfortable with each other, okay?" He could sense she was anxious, due to her body movements.

She sluggishly nodded and blushed.

"Now, I do need to tell you something." He exhaled. "I really hate saying this… but I don't think you'll see your family again."

"B-but you promised you'd help me find them!"

"I k-know I did, and I can try to keep the promise, but I can't guarantee that we will be able to find them."

"Why? Where are they?"

"Listen… this isn't like the world that you used to live in. There are these… people, and they're really bad. They hurt other people and turn good people into bad people, just like them. I call them the exanimated."

"Wh-why would they do that? And where are my family?"

"I told you, they're evil! They've lost all control of their body – that's why they do that. Besides, I'm not sure where your family are, and I can try to help you find them, but I can't promise you."

"I just want to see them, please."

"Then I'll assist you in finding them."

"B-but what if the bad people have got them?!"

"Alyssa, if the bad people have got them, there's nothing we can do. They can't come back from being evil, and we can't save them. So that's why if any bad or evil people hurt you by biting or scratching or cutting you or anything, you must tell me! No exceptions!"

She nodded again.

"Now… I don't know what to do. We have no good shelter, we don't really have anything to do, I guess we just have to… survive."

"What do you mean? We have got stuff to do! We need to find my-"

"Alyssa, we will try to find your family! What I mean is that we can't just take everybody out and search, it's a too big risk! We need somewhere to live and we need lots of supplies, like more than we already have! Then we will try to find your family!"

"I just want my mummy!" Alyssa burst into tears, Glameow immediately charging over and growling in a form of protection. Staravia saw this and landed in front of Glameow, trying to intimidate it away from Mikey. "Where's my mummy?" She repeated the same thing, over and over again even though Mikey already told her that nobody knows. Mikey shrugged it off, and split Staravia and Glameow up.

Meanwhile, a few metres away, Heliolisk was trying to make Magmar laugh, to cheer him up. He was twirling around and bouncing up and down. Greninja tried to stop Heliolisk, for he thought that Magmar needed some alone time to grieve.

Mikey glanced at the subway entrance, then nodded.

"Espeon and Staravia, you mind going out on a scouting mission?" Mikey requested, as the two turned around and glared at him. "We got to leave this place, and I think we should head westwards towards the ocean. It'd be helpful if you two could fly west for a while, and check whether the route is clear." Espeon nodded first, followed by Staravia.

"Remember, we can handle a few… bad guys." He rolled his eyes, "So don't worry about them. Just stay in the air, and do not land unless you know you're wholly safe."

Espeon leaped on to Staravia's back, held on, and then they sailed into the sky.

"Be back by sunset!" He yelled as they vanished into the distance. Then, he rested against a tree and held back his sobbing.

Alyssa balanced herself beside him, and said in her sweet voice, "You can cry. I know you're sad about Venusaur and I think you're trying to hide your tears. You should just cry as much as you can, because everybody should be able to cry without having to hide it." She leant her head on his shoulder. "I never hide it."

Mikey smiled, and then responded.

"I'm not depressed over Venusaur. I mean, I am upset and I miss him and everything, but he's free from this hell we know as earth." He breathed. "I'm so distressed because I've lost hope. What's the point in living in this world? It's been so irredeemably destroyed that there's no possible way for things to ever go back to how they were. I mean, who am I kidding? I say we can find a safe place, but we're never going to have a happy ending. We might find somewhere nice and secure, but the world is still infested with exanimated and it always will be. Eventually, they'll find our 'nice and secure' place and ruin our lives even more."

He was becoming incredibly stressed as tears began to form in his eyes. The whole group began to listen to him.

"Whatever happens, we're screwed. Our whole existence will consist of fear, and no matter how much we fight for our old lives, when we die nobody will even know about it, remember it or care about it. Nobody will know, remember or care that we lasted and survived. The earth is in ruins and there's nothing we can do about it. Our lives have no significance or meaning in the long run. I keep telling myself every morning and every night that the government or army will come and rescue us. However, I know that we'll be stuck in this anarchy forever. It may sound good, but with anarchy, it's all about the power. You got big guns and a shelter? You're in charge. That's not how the world should be. People will turn corrupt and chaotic, worsening this world to a more inferior place than it already is. That's what happened to the monsters who burned down the cabin. They were corrupt and chaotic. So why do we bother trying? To keep our humanity although the whole world is against us? Well that's a pretty big battle, and I don't know if it's worth fighting for."

Then, he glanced up and looked at Greninja, Magmar, Heliolisk and Glameow. They were staring at something behind him. The four were appearing in complete shock, frozen by the looks of it. Mikey thought it was about his speech originally, but then he heard what they were so stunned about from behind him.

"That was a pretty good speech man. I'm glad you didn't mind us killing your friend back in that field, and you're clearly pretty suicidal, so you won't mind us doing what we need to to you and your other friends." A deep voice chuckled from behind him, followed by several other laughs. "I might punish you a bit more since you called us corrupt and chaotic."

Mikey slowly shuffled around, and hid Alyssa behind him.

He observed four men and one woman, all of them holding guns aimed at them. His expression was unfathomable.

"Y-you do not hurt these people. You hurt me all you want, but I swear to you, if you hurt these people, I'll hurt you. Right after I hurt you to the same degree that you hurt Venusaur." He pulled his gun out and aimed it at the woman's head as they all prepared to pull the trigger on him. "You want her to die, huh? By the time you've shot me I've already shot her. So I suggest that _you_ put your weapons down."

He knew he probably wouldn't be able to shoot the woman, but he had to threaten them to save his group.

"You have two people. You and a little girl. We have five adults." Another man shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll have one less adult if you try to shoot me." Mikey smirked.

"P-put your guns down." The woman eventually dropped hers. "He'll shoot me, and you know I've got that test underway. We can't risk losing me when it's so vital to keep me alive at the moment."

Eventually, the others dropped theirs after a lot of persuasion from the woman.

"You aimed the gun at anybody else in the group? We'd have shot you. But what sort of monster are you for aiming it at a woman?" One of the men questioned him.

Mikey chuckled, "I'm not sure what sort of monster I am, but I must have come from the same place as you monsters. Oh, wait, you're even worse. You're despicable creatures, and you deserve anything and everything bad which could ever happen to you."

"Ain't it funny that you came here to take me down, yet it has resulted in me taking you down?" Mikey chuckled. "Now you guys, run. Run to where Greninja and I went and found Alyssa and Glameow. Go!" He pointed as his group left, leaving only him and Greninja standing in front of the group. Greninja refused to leave him. He knew the men and the woman would outsmart him and kill him, even though he had the power at that point, so he insisted that his friends left so they'd be safe and out of harm's reach.

Mikey then pointed at the guns on the ground with his other hand.

"Step back, and Greninja pick them up please."

Greninja went to grab them, but the tallest man kicked him over, and reached for his gun. Out of reflex, Mikey shot. It blasted through the man's shoulder as he moaned in agony. Greninja then grabbed three of the guns, for it was all he could carry, and ran backwards behind some rocks. Mikey followed him and watched as the remaining gun was picked up by the woman. They knew there would be fighting, and that Venusaur's grave would turn into a war ground.

Mikey was a bit traumatised that he had shot a living human, but he didn't have time to be shocked. He aimed the gun and shot again, this time hitting the trees that they were hiding behind. He heard a gunshot and watched as the rock in front of him got shot, inches from his face. They clearly had more experience with guns. This time, Mikey didn't aim. He just lunged up and shot, hitting the ground beside the woman's foot.

"Greninja, I don't expect you to use a gun. Only use it if you think you can." Mikey watched Greninja pick up two guns at once, before the Pokémon began sprinting towards them. He shot and shot and shot. They weren't accurate, but since there were so many shots being fired and since he was doing it so rapidly, a lot of them made impact with the people. During this time, Mikey aimed his gun accurately and took his time. He shot and it smashed through one of the people's heads.

Then, he just sat. He couldn't believe what he had done. He felt something hit is right arm, and he calmly looked at it to see a big gunshot through it. He couldn't feel the pain, or maybe he just didn't want to feel it. Since it hit his writing arm, he then had to use his left arm to shoot. It wasn't as accurate, and he was still a bit delusional about murdering someone, but it was better than nothing. He aimed and shot, hitting the trees again. Greninja shot a lot of bullets, some of which hit people's feet and hands, but he didn't manage to kill anybody. Mikey assumed that Greninja purposely avoided their heads, since they both knew that Greninja could easily have shot them all if he needed to.

After a few more minutes, their attempts of fighting back had become fruitless. The enemies were clearly stronger, and there was no way Mikey and Greninja would win. They were hiding behind the rocks again, firing shots whenever they could.

"Let's make it like old times, eh Greninja?" Mikey sneered. "Greninja, use Water Shuriken!"

Greninja grinned and bowed his head, forming an enormous shuriken in his hands. He then hurled it at them, before forming even more and repeating it. They were all knocked over, and then Mikey turned to Greninja.

"Now run. Follow the others to where I said. I'm right behind you." He pushed Greninja. Mikey wasn't really going to follow them. He knew that if he did, they'd attack the whole group. He was willing to sacrifice himself to them, so they wouldn't go and find everyone else. Greninja darted away, assuming that Mikey was behind him. He took two guns with him and carried Mikey's bag. When the people managed to stand up, Mikey continued to shoot. He'd at least attempt to wipe them out before they murdered him. The agonizing pain from his arm was beginning to hit him, so he struggled to stay awake. If they approached him, he still had his hammer to attack them with as a last resort.

However, before he could react by swinging his hammer, they were already in front of him. They forced his gun from his hand and then tied his arms together. Afterwards, they forced him to his feet and asked where his friends had went.

"I'm not telling you." Mikey spat at them as they forced his face against the rocks.

The women was getting frustrated. "You tell us or you'll regret it."

Mikey stayed silent as they pulled a knife out, and pressed it towards his arm's skin.

"Last chance, tell us where they are or we'll hurt you, and find them as well. We know where they are because of the direction they headed in to, but we want to know exactly which part of the place they're at." One of them punched his head, making it hit against the rocks. He felt blood dribble down his face. When he didn't say anything else, they began carving words into his arm with the knife. Mikey was shrieking, but he wouldn't let them see him being vulnerable. He muffled the screeching with his tongue.

After what felt like days of pain, they forced him to follow them. They were heading towards Camphrier Town, which was where Mikey told them to hide. He tried to resist the walking, but they punched him again every time he did.

"Remember you killed one of our guys, so we're going to kill one of yours. Only fair, right?" The smaller man punched him again. His vision began to black out, and he struggled to keep conscious. As they dragged him away, he just managed to see Venusaur's grave swinging side to side in the wind.

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><p>"Camphrier Town. This ancient town was once famous for the long-neglected manor home of a noble family." The woman stepped into the town first. "Maybe that's where your friends are hiding."<p>

Mikey was hoping that his group had fled the town, but then he saw Glameow and Greninja. They were sneaking past and they opened the doors in Alyssa's house, letting all the exanimated out. Then, they dashed to the manor and let over 20 of the exanimated free to roam. They all began limping towards Mikey and the bad guys, as Greninja nodded at Mikey and then sprinted away with Glameow.

It was complete chaos. Zombies were attacking them and the enemies were fighting back. Somewhere in all the distraction, Mikey managed to slip past them and rush to Alyssa's home, which was where Glameow and Greninja were going in to. He charged in and slammed the door shut, before climbing the stairs. He saw Alyssa crying in her room, clutching on to the pink rabbit teddy. Glameow was trying to pull her away, and Greninja was breaking open the attic hatch. He had no clue where Magmar or Heliolisk were. Mikey lunged into the room, got Glameow to rip the rope from his arms and then he picked up Alyssa, before pulling her into the attic (which Greninja had just managed to open). Greninja and Glameow climbed in next.

Out of the hole in the roof, Mikey watched them break down Alyssa's front door. They headed in and began shouting.

"If you're in here, come down now and we won't kill you!" They screamed, trying to lure their group out. "Yet."

Alyssa had a sudden panic, "I dropped Pinksie Bunny on the floor!" She jumped down through the attic hatch before Mikey could stop her. She picked up her rabbit then began to scramble back up. However, the attackers had already grabbed her by the hair and dragged her down the stairs, into the street. Glameow dived down and gave itself up. It didn't want Alyssa in danger.

"Who's left hiding?" The shorter guy asked. "Um… the Greninja, the boy, the Heliolisk and… who else?"

"The Magmar." The woman scoffed.

Then the man demanded, "You all come down here right now or these two get bullets through their heads!" Then, Magmar and Heliolisk came out from their hiding. They were in a small garage beside the road. They sat beside Alyssa and Glameow. Mikey and Greninja came out next, climbing down from the roof the same way they did the day before. However, before they did this, they left the bag of their supplies, their three guns they were carrying and Mikey's hammer in the attic. This was in case they ever needed them.

They were all lined up along the street, with their hands behind their heads. "You're going to really regret trying to resist and escape from us." The woman giggled. Then, a serious look grew on her face. They approached Glameow, and hit it over the head with their gun. Then they knocked Alyssa over the head, then Magmar, etc. Mikey observed as one by one, all of his group had their heads hit with a gun, knocking them out. He was the last one remaining, and he then felt it happen to himself. As his vision faded away, he heard from directly ahead of him, "And the regret is starting now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Long time no see! (About 12 days, actually) I don't have much to say here, except be prepared for Chapter 8 :o I hope you despise these villains as much as I do c; Remember to read and review, etc.! As always, if you find any mistakes, be sure to let me know so I can fix them. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p><span>Chapter 7<span>

They marched, and marched, and marched, and marched, and marched a bit more. The gravelly path which had almost been completely eradicated by the wind was now thin, the grass around it was overgrown from the lack of care, and the sunlight was flickering through the tree leaves and branches. The vibrant sun fought against the trees to destroy the shade, and it was somehow victorious. Heat burned their visible skin, and the taste of blood occupied their throats.

Mikey couldn't tell where they were going, but it didn't matter; he couldn't fight back, nor could any of them. They were all still half-unconscious from the hits on their heads. They were incapable of seeing from their eyes. They could only feel, smell, hear and taste. It was as if one of their five senses had been detached from their lives forever. Every time they began to drift off back into the darkness of unconsciousness, they were jerked at to keep them going. It felt like years since they had started walking, and Mikey hoped it would last for years more. He didn't want the foreseeable to happen to him and his friends, the 'foreseeable' being death's chariot approaching.

When he did manage to tear his eyes open, he didn't see much, for he was too late. They were already being stuffed and jammed into the back of a delivery van, even though they clearly couldn't fit in. He could tell that Magmar and Greninja were in an identical state as he was, for their eyes were exposed, but they couldn't fight back. When they were eventually in the van, the sound of a chain lock being bolted at the van backdoors could be heard. They were sealed in. Mikey knew that the 'enemies' had gotten on to the driver seats of the van, for the engine had turned on and the whole vehicle began moving.

"G-Greninj-a and Magm-Magmar, please, we have to try to esc-escape." Mikey clenched his fist, attempting to break the stiffness from his arms. "I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are, but we need to go." He wiped his eyes before clinging to the side, desperately trying to stand. When he managed to reach his feet, he collapsed again. Mikey was utterly powerless, which was a new experience for him since he was always so independent. He glared around, trying to check the positions of everyone: Magmar was in front of him, sitting beside Greninja; Alyssa was sprawled across the floor at their feet, completely limp and motionless; Glameow was curled in the right-hand corner; and Heliolisk was perched against the other side. He almost felt a sense of relief when he noticed that Staravia and Espeon weren't in there with them.

Greninja yawned and began to shake Alyssa, who was waking up more and more. It took 10 minutes for her to wake up, but they didn't care. They were just glad that she did wake up, and that she wasn't like Glameow and Heliolisk who were still out of awareness.

"Where are we?" Alyssa unknowingly asked, looking around at everybody squished into the van. "Glameow?" She picked it up, before hugging it tightly. Mikey actually believed that Alyssa's love had saved Glameow, for there was no way a tiny Pokémon like Glameow would rise from a hit over the head with a gun, by just getting lucky. Maybe it was just Mikey latching on to old times, where love could change lives, or maybe it was just indicating that he was losing sanity. Either way, Glameow woke up during the hug and held Alyssa close.

Heliolisk took the longest to awaken, which gave them all quite the scare. It had taken over 25 minutes for him to get up, so Mikey couldn't stay unmoving. When he did get up, however, they began to devise a method for escaping. They knew it'd be no use whilst they were still in the van, but when they were to be let out of it, they would strike and flee. Mikey and his group outnumbered them, since there were six of Mikey's group and only four of the enemies. Of course they had weapons, but Mikey had more people. It was an even match, or at least Mikey hoped it would be.

Knowing that he left their stuff hidden at Alyssa's house was reassuring, since he knew that when they escaped these people they would have it to fall back on. However, this also worried them that they'd have to be in the position of falling back on something – the one situation which Mikey never wished to be in. It was reaching winter and the weather was getting colder, so they needed a shelter more than ever. Even sitting in that van with the engine turned on left them feeling frozen – they were just thankful that they always had Magmar to keep them warm. Needing to fall back on something meant they weren't prepared, which during the winter was the nastiest thing ever.

When the vehicle came to a sudden halt and the backdoors swung open, they didn't fight back. It just didn't feel like the right moment, for it was as if they knew it would be an unsuccessful attempt resulting in casualty. So they let the people grab them, and they let them pull them out. Mikey glanced around, checking their surroundings and searching for an escape route. He viewed a large building in front of him, and thousands of lanky trees behind him. They were in the middle of the woods, and ahead of them was a library. The entrance opened and they were pushed in. Their attempts of resistance were futile.

The first room was huge, with bookshelves dispersed around in random places and three doors leading out from it. The walls were pale, and the floor was wooden. The books were half-missing, and the windows were fortified. Around the group were at least three other people, all equipped with guns. They weren't in there for long, for they were being urged into the closest door to them. The woman pulled out a pair of keys, unlocked the door, and then shoved all of them in before locking it behind them. Mikey had hit his head on the way in, so he felt a little bit dozy. The room they were locked in was like a storage room, which had been drained from all things vibrant and appealing. It was grey and dark, because the windows completely shielded with wooden planks. The miniature amount of light beaming in was coming from Magmar and the entrance (there was a small window on the door).

When he managed to look around, although the room was drained from liveliness, he saw more life than he had seen in months. Firstly, there were three other people: an older man, with black fuzzy hair, appearing around the age of 35; an older woman around the age of 50, with black-just-gone-grey hair; and a girl who Mikey assumed was around his age, with strawberry, curled hair and sea-green eyes. Mikey smiled when he saw someone like him. Perched beside the older woman was a Glaceon, who had its right paw laying on her foot. It surely seemed loyal. At the back of the room were two Butterfree, accompanied by seven Caterpie who were all wrapped up to them comfortably. The last one was a large Poliwrath, who was crouching in the corner, looking away from everyone. It looked like it hadn't moved in years.

"I'm so sorry." The older man purposely hit his head on the wall. "They can't keep doing this to more people… it's immoral."

Mikey turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"And to a tiny girl… surely they have more principles than that." The man sighed again. "I just beg that they don't test on you guys, like they did to the others…"

"Um, test? Do you mean like experiments?" Mikey questioned him. "Why are we here? Why are you guys here?"

"You haven't been told?"

All of Mikey's group listened in.

"The whole reason that innocent people are kidnapped by these monsters are so we can be experimented on. These wretched people experiment on humans, Pokémon and zombies, going to senseless extremes to find some sort of cure to the plague."

Mikey's jaw swung open, "But… they can't do that! It's against our rights!"

"Well 'rights' are fruitless now. Claiming you have rights is like claiming you still have sanity." The older woman spat. "Our fate is unavoidable, we've tried to get out of here too many times. They make the punishments worse each time, so we've just given up now."

"Is… that why there's so many… Caterpie over there?" He pointed. "So they can experiment on them?"

The older woman nodded.

"Those two unfortunate Butterfree are forced to reproduce, so the babies can be taken away and used for testing. It's ghastly." The man heaved a sigh.

Mikey tried to change the topic, for he didn't want to believe what they had told him. "When did you guys last eat?"

"A week ago."

"That's awful. You guys must not even have energy to move."

"That's why we're lounged around here, engraved with a loss of hope."

The Pokémon kept quiet, and the people did too. The whole room turned into silence, nobody daring to intrude on the muteness which had overcame their lives like a disease. It took a few minutes for the whole ordeal to kick in – they were trapped and had no weapons to rebel with. Although their situation was awful, Mikey's fighting spirit was not demolished. He wanted to escape and he identified that he would, no matter what it took. He began to realize something: after disaster or death or anything bad, he would lose optimism, but when they had a specific aim like to escape or find something or rescue others' lives, the gush of hope came right back to him like a boomerang.

The thing which did eventually break the silence was the sound of the keys rattling in the door, and the door swinging open and thumping against the wall. Four men strolled in, grabbed four Caterpie and then two of them grabbed Heliolisk. The two Butterfree were sobbing, and Mikey was enraged. He darted to the men and before they took Heliolisk out, he grabbed one of them by the neck and tried to yank him away. He punched at the guy's head as hard as he could, but it was pointless. The sound of a gunshot ricocheting from behind him, which was fired from in front of him, made him release his grip. He couldn't let himself be shot, and to be honest, he was lucky the first bullet didn't hit him.

"Heliolisk! D-don't worry!" Mikey watched as Heliolisk was dragged out, the door locking behind him. "Ju-just… don't worry!" He stared through the small window, where he watched Heliolisk being shoved into another room. He didn't have time to act cowardly, and he didn't have time to feel depressed. He knew they had to stop the foes before they did anything to Heliolisk. He demanded that everybody listened to him, and he shrieked for their attention.

Once he had everybody's consideration, Mikey whispered, "They can capture and kill me if they want, but I'm not going to let them hurt anybody else. I'll get us out of here. Guys, I have a plan."

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><p><strong>A plan is always good. I hope you guys are ready to see the plan unfold :p As I said at the beginning, remember to review, and brace yourselves for Chapter 8!<strong>

**~Dracoshi**


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